Proper Shooting Technique Help

I just recieved my rifle back from Kirby (I'll be posting a sperate post on this) and headed to the range. Let me start out by saying that am new to long range. All of my previous shooting and been at Michingan whitetail ranges which are usually less than 200 yds.

I wanted to ask from the those who know about proper shooting techinues. Seems whenver I am shooting I can snuggle two shots close and then there is a flyer. I'm certain this is operator error and looking for some proper shooting techinues. One thing I notice is that I seems to creep closer to the scope as I increase the magnification. Is this common or should I be situation my position as if I was on the highest magnification all the time? Like I mentioned earlier, I am a newbie to long range and "proper shooting techniques" so lets start of with the basics. Sort of as if you were giving instruction to somone who has never fired a rifle before. That way I can see what I'm doing right, what I am doing wrong, and start from there. Thanks.

Do you fire a shot to heat the barrel or just start from cold barrel and shoot your group? I always fire a shot to heat the barrel when punching paper and then proceed to shoot my group.When shooting off of a rest I let the butt set against my shoulder and try not to touch the rifle anywhere else, ease my finger in the trigger guard from the front until it makes contact with the trigger at this point I take a series of shallow breaths and hold applying pressure to trigger and at the same time visualizing or if you will mentally willing the bullet to strike the desired point of impact. You may find that a different regimine will work for you, I always try to contact the stock with my cheek with as little pressure as possible and always in the same point.Practice at distances you intend to shoot in actual situations take notes on where you hit with the complete data nothing like a dope card made from actual circumstances.Some real good advice can be had from reading the several sniper books on the market.I am sure that more people will chime in with better advice than I can offer and go into greater detail to help you.You most likelk have a very accurate rifle now you just have to work on the other equation you, plenty of practice should help! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Aiming point is important. An aiming point that is too large results in a large group. Depending on the scope and what I can see with it, I like a square that is about 0.3 MOA.

Breathing is important. You cannot hold your breath until the target blurs.
If you are shooting from front and rear bags then the sling swivel studs need to come off so they don't hang during recoil. Gun should slide easily and smoothly and straight back. I always get my rear bag out of alignment.

Foreend should be held or positioned the same for each shot. Not all guns like a hard rest for the foreend. Some want a little padding.

Shoulder pressure on the recoil pad should be the same for each shot. If the gun has a brake on it, you may, from the bench, get by with very little pressure. However, for a hunting rifle, you have to make sure how it is going to shoot under field conditions such as from a bipod.

Just from old habits, I always hunt with a barrel that has at least two rounds down it. Not all guns care about that but some do.

I'm chimeing in but I don't think you can get better advice that what sniper2 has given.

One thing that I do that works pretty well for me is when shooting off of pedestal rest @ the bench or bipod in the field, I with my trigger hand firmly and straigthly (if that's a word [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img])pull the stock into my shoulder. The other hand is used for rear bag adjustment.

I used to, when shooting 222 cal in 40Xs in BR I'd do like sniper2 does and not touch anything but the 2oz trigger. But I got into this other habit when I had a 270 Win and a thumbhole stock.

I now shoot thumpers and ain't about to give it a chance to give me a thumpin'.

I have also found that without the thumbhole stock, a palm swell helps to index the elbow the same every shot.

HTH.

__________________I may be the slowest guy on the mountain . . . . but . . . . I'm on the mountain!